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匹夫不可夺志也

匹夫不可奪志也
pǐfūbùkěduózhìyě
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 even a common man cannot be robbed of his will
  2. 2 (fig.) every person, however humble, has an inviolable resolve
  3. 3 (lit.) a common fellow — one cannot seize his will, indeed

Examples

老师常引用匹夫不可夺志也来鼓励学生坚守理想。
Lǎoshī cháng yǐnyòng pǐfū bù kě duó zhì yě lái gǔlì xuésheng jiānshǒu lǐxiǎng.
The teacher often quoted 'even a common man cannot be robbed of his will' to urge students to hold firm to their ideals.
面对威胁他毫不退让，正所谓匹夫不可夺志也。
Miànduì wēixié tā háobù tuìràng, zhèng suǒwèi pǐfū bù kě duó zhì yě.
Facing threats he did not yield an inch — truly, 'even a common man cannot be stripped of his will.'

Tips

history
From 《论语·子罕》(Analects, Zihan): 三军可夺帅也，匹夫不可夺志也 (A great army can be stripped of its general, but a common man cannot be stripped of his will). Confucius elevates personal conviction above military might — the smallest person's resolve is less takeable than a whole army's command.
usage
Always paired with its opening half 三军可夺帅也 for full rhetorical effect. 匹夫 here is not derogatory — it means 'an ordinary individual,' everyman. 夺 = to forcibly take away. 也 is a classical sentence-final particle.

Stroke Order

匹 pǐ
夫 fū
不 bù
可 kě
夺 duó
志 zhì
也 yě